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User blog:Brady26/The Fields of the Drowned
Celebrating their victory over Frulam Mondath and Langdedrosa, the group gathered some supplies from Greenest before setting off towards Tendown and then on to Eldswall City. Governor Nighthill, wishing them the best gave them each fresh horses, four dapple grey geldings and a strong draft horse for Darion. Leosin thanks them for the deed they have done in gifting his order the black dragon egg, and greatly stresses not to tell the cult that they have done so, he promised to meet them in Eldswall as soon as he could. Likewise, Sergeant Markguth personally thanked Darion for his actions during the raid on Greenest, as it was his sister and her family that had been taken captive, he offered him some advice as well, to remember that his brother had not sworn the same oaths that he had, and that family is just a strong a bond as duty. Waving farewell to the town, Larion and Alais giving them enough food to make it to Eldswall with full stomachs, the townsfolk came out to see them depart, the Swift family children reenacting the fight between Darion and Langdedrosa. The group set off after the stolen treasure, following the Trade Way east. At Tendown, Barion and Rack met a travelling capranix wandwright, Wilbur the Wondrous, who specialised in wands with the mending spell that he intended to sell in Greenest, having heard they had been attacked and the town sacked. Barion negotiated the identification of various magical items the party had, discovering that the Butcher's Cleaver that they had found bore a curse upon it that demanded the wielder use its edge to cut into the flesh of living beings. Wilbur, a fellow mage, offered to teach Barion the spell from his spell book, it being the most advanced spell the capranix had in his possession, Barion agreed and spent the night learning the spell. Rack negotiated the purchasing of a wand, but decided against it when they did not live up to his expectations. Not wishing to visit the inn (lest they incur the attention of Trinx the halfling), Darion and Kadmos went to visit Sir Alrin, asking the old knight of his past. Coaxing information from him, Darion discovered that Sir Alrin too had a brother, the Lord Protector of Sang City, Edric Tane. He admitted he had grown apart from his brother after he took power in that region, and though he had no roots in Eldswall State, he had sworn an oath to protect the people of the small town, even though he had outlived all the residents that had heard that oath spoken. Kadmos inspected the weapons further, Sir Alrin saying he was glad that someone was using the shield he had gifted Barra rather than having it sit here gathering dust. When Alrin grew tired, Darion and Kadmos left him to his warm fire, finding Barra by the horses. They asked how he was as they had not spoken after the prank with the barrel and feared he might be upset, but Barra's concerns lay elsewhere as he was struggling to draw power from the icon of Bahamut Rack had carved for him. When they had fought agents of the cult he was able to channel power through it, but when trying to draw strength from the Platinum Dragon again he was only able to receive the barest trace of divine energies. Concerned but unable to offer any more aid as it seemed to be a personal matter between Barra and his faith, they went into the inn to rest. On the morrow they took a warm bath courtesy of Trinx and Ford, and a great feast of chips cooked in goose fat, roasted goose and a fist sized chocolate egg for each of them. With this hearty meal, the group set off for Eldswall. For the next four days the group made good time, seeing a number of militia men walking the roads, and as they drew closer to the Elde river they began to encounter caravans. Seeing one up ahead Darion picked up speed to converse with the fellow travellers, but as he and the group approached the wagon opened, and a dozen Drenden marines came out and aimed long metal tubes that the group recognised as rifles that used the Drenden Powder. Taken aback at this display of hostility Darion demanded answers from the officer that came out, the officer wanting to know why he had approached their wagon at a pace enough to alarm his lookout. Darion loomed over the man, asking him whether he really wanted to start a fight, the colour draining from the man's face as he raised his sidearm, Darion scoffing as he pulled his mount away to continue down the road, the lookout atop the wagon aiming a contraption of some kind at him as he told them to fight with real weapons. Reaching Eldswall City, they heard the rushing waters of the Elde where the Meer meets the sea, the black waters of the great lake turning pure and clear as it tumbles over the Span, the great aqueduct bridge that links the north and south of Elswall. Asking a militiaman for Ontharr Frume did not yield much luck, but once they mentioned that he would likely have taken an inn as his headquarters the guard noted that the A Pair of Black Antlers had been rented out by some knight for exclusive use of himself and his squires. Thanking the man, they followed his directions towards the centre of town near the Span, passing many shops that dot the street where the Trade Way ends in the city. Arriving at the inn they found a number of squires, and once Darion introduced himself and declared that they were there to meet with Ontharr Frume they were let in by the young squire. In the inn they found the squires were drinking, gambling and going about various chores. Deciding they would wait for Frume the group was about to sit when a large figure entered the inn. At first the group took the large helmeted knight that blocked the doorway as an enemy, he spoke harshly, noting that they might have the strength, the wit, the speed, the skill and the faith, but that Ontharr Frume had something that everyone one of them lacked; a big bushy beard! At that he revealed he did in fact have a big bushy beard, and that he was Ontharr Frume, and he welcomed them to the inn. Spending some time arm wrestling, gambling, and drinking with Frume and his squires the group waited for Leosin. As they did, Rack and Barion visited a magic shop Odd Ends, owned by an Ezrin the Forked, a tiefling that specialised in summoning familiars. As walked the streets he saw many newspapers and pamphlets littering the street, news from years ago, conflicts during the Silence, news of a new Truth being drafted in Grostere amongst other things, he also saw the militia of Greenest, fresh recruits marching down the Trade Way south, likely back home for their final days of training. At the magic shop Barion purchased a Scroll of Find Familiar and Rack used the last of his gold (with a little help from Barion) to commission an enchantment to be placed upon his boots to enhance his already vast speed, which was agreed to though he was informed it would take around thirty days to complete. Barion also requested some alterations be made to the robes he took from Frulam Mondath, seeking to obscure the obvious cult symbols without diminishing the effectiveness of the protective enchantments on it. Darion likewise took his new armour to be custom fitted and adorned with the various sigils of his order. The half-orc smith agreeing, informing him it would take a day to complete. Which he collected the next afternoon, along with a new maul. A day later Leosin arrived, he and Frume gathered the group together to discuss what they knew; that the cult had likely ditched their wagons, carried their loot through the city and across the Span to where they could purchase new wagons and begin hauling their ill gotten gold towards Naertyar, wherever or whatever that is. Leosin revealed he is part of a group known as the Unbidden, and that they had allied with Frume's faction, the Order of the Justicar, to begin to work against the Cult of the Dragon Queen. They sought the groups help to join the last caravan leaving Eldswall north the next morning, in which they suspect the cult has hidden their gold, follow them to Naertyar, and stop whatever they have planned there. Both men made offers to the group to join their factions, citing the benefits such as the resources they can call upon, such as getting magic items transferred to you such as the boots that Rack realised he would be unable to collect now that they were going to be leaving Eldswall so soon. No one took up the offer to join either faction, but Leosin asked them to keep an eye out for another Unbidden agent that had been investigating the cult in the area, Carlon Amoffel. Frume gave each of them fifty gold pieces and a full stock of food rations and whatever simple supplies they needed, and Leosin offered a gem worth one thousand two hundred gold pieces to be collected from an Undibben agent upon the completion of the task. In celebration of their new alliance, the group took Frume and his squires on a night of drinking, and after getting kicked out of several respectable taverns, the group ended up back at the A Pair of Black Antlers where they spent the night. At first light they bid farewell to Leosin and Frume and set off across the Span to find the contact Frume had across at the caravans. As they crossed the great aqueduct the group joked and laughed, and Darion lamented that they had not seen Chamain and thought aloud where he lived in Eldswall. As he spoke the words he saw Sildar Hallwinter waiting for them at the final gatehouse, greeting the old warrior they inquired as to whether Chamain was around, and he informed them that they had an invitation to Ertvine Manor just further down the road, he also gave them the two Potions of Healing they had commissioned from Chaimain back in Greenest. Deciding to spend some time talking to an old ally before they left the region they went to the Manor, meeting a mildly sober Sarro Ertvine who was at rest in a hammock just outside the Manor, his Dancing Sword''leaping to guard its master as the visitors approached. Sarro pointed them to Chamain's cottage where he mixed his alchemical creations, there the group were reunited with their former employer who offered to sell them various potions at cost price. After doing business, Chamain wished them luck and he continued with his work, leaving the snoring Sarro to his hammock the group headed back to the caravan station, but not before Sildar inquired as to where they were going, they said they were still working against the cult, which he took as a good sign and trusted that they would do what needed to be done. At the caravan the group met Ackyn Selebon, Frume's contact who was able to get them meetings with various merchants in the caravan to audition before. Deciding to avoid any direct association with one another from the outset, the group each auditioned for a different merchant, each managing to land a job with different people, having their food and supplies covered by the merchant and a wage to be earned each tenday. Barra ended up working for Achrey Ulyeltin, an unlikeable man, but who paid well and had perfectly nice workers, he was hauling furs and pelts to sell in Easthearth, he was to be given ten gold a tenday. Barrion was taken as a bodyguard by Beyd Sechepol, a half-elf from Eldswall that worked for''Ertvine Fine Wine, a diplomatic man that was often quite forgetful, likewise he negotiated a rate of ten gold a tenday. Kadmos joined with Lasfelro the Silent, a a strange human that keeps to himself, a gargoyle guarding his wagon preventing anyone from looking into it, he occasionally hums a tune or whistles for a moment but will always return to his sullen silence, he agreed to pay Kadmos eight gold a tenday.Rack found a common interest in wood carving with Noohar and Selvek Serelim, two Telinor elf brothers, the former being quite chatty and eloquent whilst the latter is unable to speak at all and instead communicates with his brother through hand movements, Rack was only able to secure a five gold per tenday wage from the two brothers, but received a fair portion of food and living expenses covered. Darion went with Oyn Evenmor, a human merchant hauling exotic birds from Farthrone up north, an extremely argumentative man, Oyn will however pour any man willing to argue with him a drink, and keep pouring all night if it means he could just argue, Darion was to be paid ten gold a tenday for his work on the wagon. Before setting off, Barion used the spell scroll to summon a familiar for himself, the spell conjuring a silver pseudodragon for him, which he called Murray. The creature could speak telepathically to him, and Barion found he could now understand the draconic language whilst Murray was with him. Early into the journey, Kadmos met Losvius Longnose, an extremely curious halfling from Falern Arbor interested in Kadmos as a high elf in this part of the world. Noticing his magic sword, Losvious offered to buy the blade off Kadmos for fifty gold, obviously not understanding its actual value. Kadmos refused and when the halfling realised he was not going to be able to worm anymore information out of the elf at the moment he abandoned the cause and sought to pester another traveller. Later however, Kadmos discovered his blade had been stolen, he found Losvius immediately and inquired as to whether the halfling knew anything about it, Kadmos believing that the little halfling would not be dumb enough to steal his weapon after admiring it so and risking his wrath. Asking Lasfelro for advice, the human said nothing, but his eyes darted to three people in the camp, following his gaze Kadmos went to speak to these people. He asked Radecere Perethum, a gnome travelling on his own, whether he knew anything about the missing weapon, but the gnome offered to play a game for the information, the two playing a dice game of Sevens, which Kadmos won, much to Radecere's annoyance, who admitted that he saw a human skulking around the other night, point to one of the other two people Lasfelro had glanced at. Approaching the man, Kadmos was introduced to Aldor Urnpoleshurst, a lawyer from Eldwall that appeared to have been run out of the town, seeing through the man's lies, Kadmos found the stolen weapon, threatening the would-be-thief who fled from the high elf's sight. As they moved farther north they could no longer hear the rushing waters of the Elde, and instead were surrounded by the dull silence of the Fields of the Drowned. As the road grew harder, the lead horse of Achrey Ulyeltin appeared distressed from its poor treatment, Ulyeltin threatening to beat the creature. Complaining about the beast to Darion, he asked whether he would be willing to sell his draft horse, Darion cursed the man for his treatment of the creature and refused. As the night closed in, the beast collapsed from exhaustion, Darion, Barion and Rack coming to accuse the man of unnecessary cruelty as he beat the creature in frustration. With Ulyeltin were a knight, a mage and Barra, who all dismounted to come to the aid of their employer, but were at an impasse as they did not wish to fight the imposing form of Darion, who commanded Ulyeltin to treat his horses fairly or he would be sorry. Agreeing, the situation diffused as the horse was given time to rest and its wounds treated. Entering trail that wound up a craggy mountain, the group saw what appeared to be two eagles above them Kadmos and Barion realising they were perytons, evil creatures that consume the still beating hearts of their victims. The monstrous beasts swept down to harass the caravan, the male slaying Murray before being put down, Kadmos managed to pin down and subdue the female, knocking the beast unconscious and locking it in a birdcage that Oyn agreed to allow them to use since they had just saved them. Realising that there must be a nest nearby Barion searched the area and found four large eggs along with a number of valuable looking trinkets and cloth that he gathered up and climbed down to the caravan. Offering to sell three of the eggs to Oyn and keep one for themselves, as well as the adult female, Kadmos expressed a desire to tame the beast if possible. Returning to the Fields of the Drowned, they saw an orc warband assaulting a freight wagon, the two survivors of the attack hiding over the partially overturned wagon. Rushing in to help, the group defeated the first wave of orcs, then as the orc warchief charged Darion, he unleashed a mighty thunder crack as he sent the barbarian warrior flying through the air, Barion and Rack killing the last few raiders. Talking with the survivors, Sir Ered and his squire, two travellers that underestimated the dangers of the road, Barion agreed to allow the men to use his horse, as theirs had been killed by the orcs, until they reached a steadfast or hostelry. Searching the orc raiders' camp, the group found a Potion of Fire Breathing and a Helm of Comprehend Languages, which looked like it once belonged to an elf ambassador. For the next few days rain and thunder pounded the caravan, and when it ended the land around them was blanketed in fungus. Fearing the mushrooms were poisonous, the caravan ground to a halt, though after some investigation, Kadmos, Rack and Barion agreed that these mushrooms were Wailing Mushrooms, and though they can cause terrible nightmares, they were not poisonous. Borrowing the scythe Barra had taken from Greenest Mill, Darion began to cut a path through the fungus, following his example others took brooms and branches to the path ahead. As the mushrooms were destroyed they released a terrible wailing sound that were compounded by the destruction of other ones. Eventually it became too much for Rack who was inflicted with terrible nightmares, despite Darions best efforts to purge whatever effect the fungus was having on him. The caravan reached the Troll's End Inn, hoping to escape the returning rain the group went inside the warm in only to be told that they had no rooms or stable space available as it had been booked out by a private party. Four men nearby, one of them dressed in the robes and regalia of an aristocratic judge mocked the caravaners, admitting it was them that booked out the inn. Asking the innkeeper how much the men were paying him, he told them a hundred gold pieces, but then begged for the group to leave. When the rude men demanded they left, Rack drew his dagger, not intended to initiate a fight, but the men used it as an excuse and dived at the group. Fighting in the inn, the group of Darion, Barion and Rack defeated the Judge's lackeys, and managed to overpower him, stripping him down to his smallclothes and throwing him out into the muck. They found dozens of purses on the man and his thugs, the innkeeper admitting that the man was a former knight paladin, but now was nothing more than a brigand that used what little divine power he had to enforce illegal tolls and make whatever smallfolk he could miserable. Thanking the group, who gave him the gold he had been promised and more from the Judge's stolen purses, he allowed the entire caravan to stay in his inn, and he would see everyone gets a chance to get warm again. The group rested in the inn, a quarter of the way through their journey north to Easthearth, not certain yet if the gold is in the caravan with them, but feeling accomplished that they have saved many lives already with their actions. Category:Blog posts